Terminal, terminal assembly and electrical connector

Abstract

The present application discloses a terminal, a terminal assembly and an electrical connector, wherein the terminal comprises a substrate portion, at least two extension arms extending outward from the edge of the substrate portion and an elastic arm formed by reverse bending from the edge of the substrate portion, wherein the elastic arm is formed with a contact portion corresponding to the contact with the docking element, and at least a portion of the elastic arm is opposite to the substrate portion and spaced apart in the up-down direction, and the elastic arm can be elastically deformed in the up-down direction. The terminal also comprises a docking foot further extended from each of the extension arms for combining with the docking substrate, and the substrate portion and the extension arm can both be elastically deformed in the up-down direction to facilitate miniaturized design.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of connectors, and in particular to a terminal, a terminal assembly and an electrical connector. Background Art

[0002] For the prior art, please refer to Chinese utility model patent CN201966366U, which discloses an electrical connector, including a shielding shell, a third terminal module integrally formed and combined with the inner surface of the top plate of the shielding shell, a first terminal module and a second terminal module. The shielding shell combined with the third terminal module is installed on the docking substrate and forms a receiving space between the docking substrate, and the receiving space is used for inserting or removing the card tray module carrying the electronic card, and the first terminal module and the second terminal module are attached to the surface of the docking substrate and are located directly below the shielding shell.

[0003] The first terminal module, the second terminal module and the third terminal module all include an insulating body and a plurality of conductive terminals formed by integral injection molding and combined in the insulating body, each of the conductive terminals includes a terminal fixing section buried in the insulating body, an elastic arm-shaped contact section protruding into the accommodating space, and a docking portion protruding out of the insulating body and corresponding to the electrical contact with the docking substrate.

[0004] After a card tray module carrying electronic cards on both the upper and lower surfaces is inserted into the receiving space, it electrically contacts the first terminal module, the second terminal module and the third terminal module to achieve signal transmission. This type of electronic card connector is usually called a stacked electronic card connector or a double-layer card connector. However, due to the stacked shape of this type of electronic card connector, the overall thickness of the card connector is relatively thick, which is contrary to the current design development route of lightweight and miniaturization. It cannot be used in some electronic products with thin thickness (such as smart mobile phones, etc.).

[0005] Therefore, it is necessary to design a new terminal, terminal assembly and electrical connector to make up for the above-mentioned defects in the prior art. Summary of the invention

[0006] The purpose of the present application is to provide a new terminal, terminal assembly and electrical connector to facilitate miniaturized design.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solutions:

[0008] A terminal comprises a substrate portion, at least two extension arms extending outward from the edge of the substrate portion, and an elastic arm formed by reverse bending of the edge of the substrate portion, wherein the elastic arm is formed with a contact portion corresponding to contact with a docking element, and at least a portion of the elastic arm is opposite to and spaced from the substrate portion in the up-down direction, and the elastic arm can be elastically deformed in the up-down direction. The terminal also comprises a docking foot portion further extended from each of the extension arms for combining with the docking substrate, and the substrate portion and the extension arm can both be elastically deformed in the up-down direction.

[0009] Furthermore, along the up-down direction, the base plate portion is located below the docking foot portion, and the contact portion is located above the docking foot portion.

[0010] Furthermore, four extension arms are provided, which are respectively located at different positions around the base plate portion, and along the up-down direction, the projections of the four extension arms and the elastic arm do not overlap.

[0011] Furthermore, the extension arm and the base plate portion are located in the same plane.

[0012] Furthermore, two of the extension arms are located on one side of the base plate, and the other two of the extension arms are located on the other side of the base plate. Along the left-right direction, the two extension arms are symmetrically arranged with the other two extension arms.

[0013] Furthermore, the terminal also includes a limiting portion formed by reverse bending from one side of the substrate portion, and along the up and down direction, one end of the limiting portion is hung above the elastic arm and has a limiting effect on the elastic arm.

[0014] Furthermore, the elastic arm includes a bent transition section connected to the substrate portion, a flat plate section spaced apart from and opposite to the substrate portion, an elevated section formed by extending from one end of the flat plate section toward a side away from the substrate portion, and the contact portion formed by the elevated section, and the limiting portion is located above the end of the flat plate section adjacent to the elevated section.

[0015] Furthermore, the terminal assembly also includes a second insulating body, and a plurality of the terminals are fixed in the second insulating body to form a terminal module, and the terminal module is combined with the docking substrate through the docking pins to form the terminal assembly.

[0016] To achieve the above objectives, this application also provides the following technical solutions:

[0017] A terminal assembly comprises a terminal as described in any one of the above items, and also comprises a docking substrate, wherein the docking substrate is formed with an upper surface and a lower surface, a through hole is formed through the docking substrate, the docking foot is electrically connected to the lower surface of the docking substrate, the elastic arm passes through the through hole, and the contact portion protrudes above the upper surface.

[0018] To achieve the above objectives, this application also provides the following technical solutions:

[0019] An electrical connector includes the terminal assembly mentioned above and a cover module, wherein the cover module includes a metal cover, and the metal cover includes a top plate, side plates extending downward from both sides of the top plate, and fixed feet further extended from the side plates. The metal cover is correspondingly covered on the upper surface of the docking substrate, and the fixed feet are correspondingly fixed to the docking substrate. The metal cover and the docking substrate jointly define a plug-in space for inserting the docking module, and the contact portion of the terminal protrudes into the plug-in space.

[0020] Furthermore, it also includes an upper terminal module, which includes a first insulating body and a plurality of signal terminal pieces combined with the first insulating body. The upper terminal module is combined with the inner surface of the top plate, and the plug-in space is formed between the upper terminal module and the docking substrate. The signal terminal piece is formed with a terminal contact portion protruding downward into the plug-in space.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present application are as follows: the contact portion of the terminal is roughly shaped like a spoon with the middle portion arched upward, an extension arm is provided between the substrate portion and the docking foot of the terminal, the extension arm and the substrate portion are located in the same plane, the docking foot is provided at the extended end of the extension arm, and in the up and down direction, the substrate portion is located below the docking foot, and the contact portion is located above the docking foot. With this design, while ensuring the elasticity of the terminal, the size of the terminal in the thickness direction is reduced, thereby reducing the overall height of the electrical connector. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the first embodiment of the electrical connector of the present application.

[0023] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A three-dimensional diagram from another angle.

[0024] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A top view of the CEC connector.

[0025] Figure 4 It is Figure 3 Section view along line AA.

[0026] Figure 5 yes Figure 1 The three-dimensional exploded view of the CEC connector specifically shows the three-dimensional exploded view of the metal cover and terminal assembly combined with the upper terminal module.

[0027] Figure 6It is a three-dimensional exploded view of the second embodiment of the electrical connector of the present application.

[0028] Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the electrical connector of the present application, and its cross-sectional position is the same as that of the first embodiment. Figure 4 The AA line shown is in the same position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0030] Please refer to Figures 1 to 5 As shown, a first embodiment of an electrical connector disclosed in the present application includes a terminal assembly 10 and a cover module 6 matched with the terminal assembly 10. The terminal assembly 10 includes a docking substrate 5 and a plurality of terminals 1 combined with the docking substrate 5. The terminal assembly 10 and the cover module 6 are jointly arranged to form a plug-in space 60 for inserting a card tray module (not shown) carrying an electronic card and an insertion port. The cover module 6 includes a metal cover 61 made of a metal plate and an upper terminal module 62 combined with the metal cover 61. Specifically, the metal cover 61 includes a flat top plate 611, side plates 612 formed by extending downward from both sides of the top plate 611, an end plate 614 formed by extending downward from one end of the top plate 611, and a plurality of fixed feet 613 formed by further extending from the side plates 612 and the end plates 614.

[0031] Please refer to Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the upper terminal module 62 includes a first insulating body 621 and a plurality of signal terminal pieces 622 combined with the first insulating body 621. The upper terminal module 62 is combined with the inner surface of the top plate 611 by integral injection molding. The docking substrate 5 is defined with an upper surface 501 and a lower surface 502, the metal cover 61 is correspondingly covered on the upper surface 501 of the docking substrate 5, the fixed foot 613 is correspondingly fixed to the docking substrate 5, and the metal cover 61 and the docking substrate 5 jointly define a plug-in space 60 for inserting a docking module (referring to a card tray module in this application) (specifically, the plug-in space 60 is formed between the upper terminal module 62 and the docking substrate 5). The signal terminal piece 622 is formed with a terminal contact portion (not marked) protruding downward into the plug-in space 60.

[0032] Please refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5As shown, the terminal 1 includes a substrate portion 11, four extension arms 12 formed by extending outward from opposite sides of the substrate portion 11, and an elastic arm 13 formed by reverse bending of one end of the substrate portion 11, wherein two extension arms 12 are located on one side of the substrate portion 11, and the other two extension arms 12 are located on the other side of the substrate portion 11, and the four extension arms 12 and the substrate portion 11 are located in the same plane. The terminal 1 also includes a docking foot 14 formed by bending from the extended end of each extension arm 12, that is, the terminal 1 includes four docking feet 14, and the four docking feet 14 are used to contact the docking substrate 5. One end of the elastic arm 13 forms a contact portion 114 corresponding to the docking element (referring to the electronic card inserted into the plug-in space 60 after being carried by the card tray module). At least part of the elastic arm 13 is opposite to the substrate portion 11 and spaced apart in the up-down direction (that is, the thickness direction of the docking substrate 5). Four extension arms 12 are arranged on both sides of the base plate 11 along the left-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction, and each pair of the extension arms 12 are symmetrically arranged along the left-right direction. Two of the four docking feet 14 are symmetrically arranged along the left-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction. The two docking feet 14 located on the same side of the base plate 11 extend in opposite directions. The elastic arm 13 is located between the two extension arms 12 along the left-right direction, and the elastic arm 13 can be elastically deformed along the up-down direction.

[0033] In the up-down direction, the substrate portion 11 is located below the docking leg portion 14, and the contact portion 114 is located above the docking leg portion 14. The terminal 1 also includes a limit portion 15 formed by reverse bending from one side of the substrate portion 11, the bending direction of the limit portion 15 is the same as the bending direction of the elastic arm 13, and the connection between the limit portion 15 and the substrate portion 11 is located between the two extension arms 12 on one side of the substrate portion 11. In the up-down direction, the limit portion 15 is located above the elastic arm 13 and has a pre-compression limit effect on the elastic arm 13. In the up-down direction, the plane where the limit portion 15 is located is located above the plane where the docking leg 14 is located.

[0034] Please refer to Figures 4 to 5 As shown, a through hole 51 is formed through the docking substrate 5, and the docking pin 14 of the terminal 1 is electrically connected to the lower surface 502 of the docking substrate 5. The elastic arm 13 passes through the through hole 51 and the contact portion 114 at least partially protrudes above the upper surface 501 (protrudes into the plug-in space 60). The terminal 1 forms a sunken plate-type combination on the docking substrate 5. In the present application, a pair of docking pins 14 corresponding to the left and right directions of the terminal are respectively located on both sides of the through hole 51.

[0035] In the present application, the setting of the limiting portion 15 can have a certain pre-compression effect on the elastic arm 13 to increase the positive pressure of the contact portion 114 of the terminal 1. At the same time, more importantly, the height of the contact portion 114 can be accurately controlled during the process, so that the contact portions 114 of multiple terminals 1 have the same or similar contact height. In addition, the elastic arm 13 of the terminal can be prevented from leaning back (especially the backward leaning of the contact portion 114). In addition, the terminal assembly 10 formed by multiple terminals 1 no longer needs to be fixed in a structure similar to the insulating body. The height of the electrical connector above the upper surface 501 of the docking substrate 5 can be fully reduced, and the overall structure of the electrical connector is also simpler. In addition, the thickness of the docking substrate 5 is fully utilized, so that the elastic arm 13 of the terminal 1 has sufficient elastic deformation space in the up and down directions, so that the risk of plastic deformation and yielding of the elastic arm 13 can be prevented. The structural design of the terminal 1 is given more space and possibility. In some usage scenarios, the extra space below the lower surface 502 of the docking substrate 5 can also be fully utilized.

[0036] It should be noted that, further, in the present application, the substrate portion 11 and the extension arm 12 are designed to be elastically deformable in the up-down direction, so that almost the entire terminal 1 can achieve elastic deformation, thereby being able to reduce the height of the C-shaped bending transition section 111 while still ensuring that the terminal 1 has sufficient elasticity and elastic deformation space. It is also possible to occupy as little space as possible under the docking substrate 5. In addition, in other embodiments, the length of the elastic arm 13 can even be further reduced. In this way, the height of the terminal 1 can be designed to be lower, combined with a sunken plate design method, to pursue an extremely low-profile design for the entire electrical connector.

[0037] Please refer to Figure 5 As shown, the elastic arm 13 includes a bending transition section 111 connected to the substrate portion 11 (in the present application, the bending transition section 111 is roughly C-shaped), a flat plate section 112 spaced apart from and opposite to the substrate portion 11, an elevated section 113 extending from one end of the flat plate section 112 toward the side away from the substrate portion 11, and the contact portion 114 extending from one end of the elevated section 113, and the limiting portion 15 is located above the end of the flat plate section 112 adjacent to the elevated section 113.

[0038] In this application, Figures 1 to 5 This is the first embodiment of the electrical connector of the present application. In the first embodiment, a plurality of the terminals 1 are arranged on the docking substrate 5 to form a terminal assembly 10, and the terminal assembly 10 is matched with a Nano Sim card. Figure 6 and Figure 7This is the second embodiment of the electrical connector of the present application. In the second embodiment, a plurality of the terminals 1 are fixed in the second insulating body 16 to form a terminal module 17. Specifically, the substrate portion 11 and the four extension arms 12 of the terminal 1 are fixed in the second insulating body 16. Two of the terminal modules 17 are installed on the docking substrate 5 to form a terminal assembly 10, which matches a Nano Sim card.

[0039] In the second embodiment, although the addition of the second insulating body 16 has a certain influence on the elastic deformation of the terminal 1 (especially the substrate 11 and the extension arm 12), since this type of electrical connector is thin, the second insulating body 16 is even thinner, and the second insulating body 16 itself is only in contact with the docking substrate 5, and there is no direct fixation. Therefore, even if there is a certain influence, the substrate 11 and the extension arm 12 can still have a certain elastic deformation margin. In order to minimize the elastic influence of the second insulating body 16 on the terminal 1, in the present application, the second insulating body 16 is further thinned in part. For details, please refer to Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, it is obvious that the second insulating body 16 at the position of the substrate 11 is thinned. Of course, in other embodiments, the second insulating body 16 at the corresponding position of the extension arm 12 can also be thinned. In the present application, the second insulating body 16 has a greater role or function to connect multiple terminals 1 as a whole, so as to facilitate the combination and fixation of multiple terminals 1 with the docking base 5 at one time.

[0040] The electrical connectors shown in the two embodiments in the drawings of the present application specification are stacked electrical connectors (i.e., the upper and lower surfaces of the card tray module are both equipped with electronic cards). In other embodiments, the cover module 6 may only include a metal cover 61 without an upper terminal module 62. The metal cover 61 is directly combined with the docking substrate 5 and cooperates with a plurality of terminals 1 (or terminal modules 17) to form the entire electrical connector (i.e., a single-layer electrical connector that cooperates with a single-layer electronic card).

[0041] In the present application, the contact portion 114 of the terminal 1 is roughly shaped like a spoon with an upward arch in the middle. An extension arm 12 is provided between the substrate portion 11 and the docking foot 14 of the terminal 1. The extension arm 12 and the substrate portion 11 are located in the same plane. The docking foot 14 is provided at the extended end of the extension arm 12. In the up-down direction, the substrate portion 11 is located below the docking foot 14, and the contact portion 114 is located above the docking foot 14. This design reduces the size of the terminal in the thickness direction while ensuring the elasticity of the terminal 1, thereby reducing the overall height of the electrical connector. Of course, the electrical connector of the present application also includes a card ejection mechanism and a switch terminal assembly. Since the card ejection mechanism and the switch terminal assembly are both prior art, they will not be described here.

[0042] Although the embodiments of the present application have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present application, and that the scope of the present application is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A terminal assembly, comprising a terminal and a docking substrate matched with the terminal, wherein the terminal comprises a substrate portion, at least two extension arms formed by extending outward from the edge of the substrate portion, and an elastic arm formed by reverse bending from the edge of the substrate portion, wherein the elastic arm is formed with a contact portion corresponding to the docking element, wherein at least a portion of the elastic arm is arranged opposite to the substrate portion in the up-down direction and at intervals, and the elastic arm can be elastically deformed in the up-down direction, and wherein: The terminal further includes a docking foot portion further extending from each of the extension arms for coupling with a docking substrate, and the substrate portion and the extension arm are both capable of elastic deformation in the up-down direction; The docking substrate is formed with an upper surface and a lower surface, a through hole is formed through the docking substrate, the docking pin is electrically connected to the lower surface of the docking substrate, the substrate portion, the extension arm and the docking pin are all located below the lower surface of the docking substrate, the elastic arm passes through the through hole, and the contact portion protrudes above the upper surface.

2. The terminal assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the up-down direction, the base plate portion is located below the docking leg portion, and the contact portion is located above the docking leg portion.

3. The terminal assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are four extension arms, which are respectively located at different positions around the base plate. In the up-down direction, the projections of the four extension arms and the elastic arm do not overlap.

4. The terminal assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The extension arm and the base plate are located in the same plane.

5. The terminal assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that: The two extension arms are located on one side of the base plate, and the other two extension arms are located on the other side of the base plate. Along the left-right direction, the two extension arms are symmetrically arranged with the other two extension arms.

6. The terminal assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The terminal further comprises a limiting portion formed by reverse bending from one side of the substrate portion. Along the up-down direction, one end of the limiting portion is hung above the elastic arm and has a limiting effect on the elastic arm.

7. The terminal assembly according to claim 6, characterized in that: The elastic arm includes a bent transition section connected to the substrate portion, a flat plate section spaced apart from and opposite to the substrate portion, an elevated section formed by extending from one end of the flat plate section toward a side away from the substrate portion, and the contact portion formed by the elevated section, and the limiting portion is located above the end of the flat plate section adjacent to the elevated section.

8. The terminal assembly according to claim 6, characterized in that: The terminal assembly also includes a second insulating body. A plurality of the terminals are fixed in the second insulating body to form a terminal module. The terminal module is combined with the docking substrate through the docking pins to form the terminal assembly.

9. The terminal assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that: Along the front-to-back direction perpendicular to the up-down direction, two of the extension arms are located at the front end of the base plate, and the other two extension arms are located at the rear end of the base plate; Along the left-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the front-back direction, two of the extension arms are located at the left side of the base plate, and the other two extension arms are located at the right side of the base plate.

10. An electrical connector, comprising the terminal assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: It also includes a cover shell module, which includes a metal cover shell, and the metal cover shell includes a top plate, side plates extending downward from both sides of the top plate, and fixed feet further extended from the side plates. The metal cover shell is correspondingly covered on the upper surface of the docking substrate, and the fixed feet are correspondingly fixed to the docking substrate. The metal cover shell and the docking substrate jointly define a plug-in space for inserting the docking module, and the contact portion of the terminal protrudes into the plug-in space.

11. An electrical connector as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that: It also includes an upper terminal module, which includes a first insulating body and a plurality of signal terminal pieces combined with the first insulating body. The upper terminal module is combined with the inner surface of the top plate. The plug-in space is formed between the upper terminal module and the docking substrate. The signal terminal piece is formed with a terminal contact portion protruding downward into the plug-in space.

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